Learning and development for Agricultural Pump Makers: passing winding skill to juniors
Motor winding is learned beside a senior over years. A planned learning routine makes sure the skill reaches juniors before the senior retires or is hired away.
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Without a plan, winding skill stays in two or three heads. The senior winder knows the turns, gauge and insulation by feel, and the juniors hand him wire and watch. When he is away or leaves, burnt motors rise and nobody knows why. Test bay staff learn to read a head and current result by being told once. Fettlers and machinists learn by copying whoever stands next to them, so habits and mistakes spread equally.
Good looks like a written skill list for winders, from preparing slots to varnishing and baking, with a sign-off at each stage by the senior. Each junior is paired with a named senior, and the senior is credited for teaching in his grade. Test bay staff have a short list of faults to diagnose with help and then alone. The slow months before the water season are used for training, not left idle.
How to set it up
1. Write the winder skill list
Break the work into stages: slot insulation, winding, connections, varnishing, baking, testing. Ask the senior winder what a junior must show at each stage. Keep the list to a page.
2. Pair each junior with a named senior
Give each junior one senior for the stage and record the pair. Set a monthly check where the senior shows what the junior can do alone.
3. Sign off stage by stage
The senior signs when the junior completes a stage on a real motor. Unsigned stages stay supervised. See learning and development process.
4. Use the slow months
Schedule extra practice, test bay drills and line improvements in the quiet period. Put it on a calendar so it is not cancelled by a dealer call.
5. Recognise the teacher
Add teaching to the senior's grade and say so to the crew. Check each quarter how many juniors moved a stage.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask your senior winder which two juniors could learn from him this year.
- Count how many winders can work alone on every motor size you make.
- List the skills in the test bay that only one person holds.
- See how many training hours were held in the last slow quarter.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach learning and development in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
It varies with motor sizes and the person, but plan on months to years for full range, not weeks. Start with simple stages and sign each off. Use a written list so progress is visible.
Often he will if teaching is part of his grade and is recognised openly. Fear comes when the skill is his only protection. Show him that teaching makes him senior, not expendable.
A short induction and one or two simple stages, yes, especially if they return each season. Keep a list of returning casuals and add a stage each year so they grow.